Blood Ties
by Deidara the Arrancar Alchemist
Summary: After a nightmarish vision, something isn't right with Grubbs Grady. The world starts to spin out of control and Grubbs must chose whether to remain true to the good side with Dervish, or pass over to the shadows with a certain demon. Set after Book 1.
1. Prologue

_Hey folks! This idea came to me the other night as I lay in bed, and seeing that I'm currently ill and can't go to school, I thought I might as well write it up now. Oh, and this takes place not long after "Lord Loss", about two weeks after Dervish returns from the Demonata universe. So, read on and tell me what ya think :) Hope you enjoy it!_

_PROLOGUE_

Grubbs Grady was very accustomed to having nightmares.

Almost every night, a horde of sticky, viscous shadows would crawl out from the dark recesses of his mind, weaving webs of fear as he reluctantly slipped into a restless state of unconsciousness. He could feel their clammy fingers caressing his skin awash with sweat; hear their murmured threats and manic giggles as he was dragged into a confusion of memories and made-up horrors. Each turn of the dream was worse than the last.

It was fortunate that although Grubbs would be considered rather cowardly, in his dreams he rode them out with gritted teeth, waiting for the dawn to peel his eyes open. Due to past experience, he knew that he was dreaming, and although the chaos before him seemed vivid, he knew they weren't real; although they were scary, they weren't nearly as terrifying as the real thing.

He also knew when a nightmare was more than it seemed. After being thrust unwillingly into a world were magic was genuine, he could identify when something supernatural was happening.

One such thing was happening now.

Grubbs moaned softly in his sleep and twisted under the duvet wrapped tightly around him. He was in that place between being awake and falling into unknowing obsidian slumber, so he still had a sense of what he was thinking and feeling. He was exhausted to his bones, and hungry too, like most teenage boys. This didn't help when sleep was evading him, and he had a brutal essay to start work on tomorrow. He sighed in frustration, and pounded his pillow into a more comfortable shape, before slamming back onto it. He squeezed his eyes shut again, and jerked in surprise as he was suddenly hit by a dream. And surprise surprise, it wasn't a good one.

His brow furrowed as he frowned his nightmares suddenly gained so much clarity that they were realer than reality. Everything seemed far brighter and the outlines were stark before him. What was more, he could _feel_ everything around him.

_Now this is just plain weird,_ he thought to himself, mouth agape.

He spun around in a full circle and drunk in his surroundings. A terrible sense of realisation crept up on him and made his shiver. The shadows pasted into every corner, the webs strung about and woven into bricks and furniture, the blood dripping from every surface. All pointed to one name: Lord Loss.

_Oh, this is just perfect! _Grubbs thought with nervous sarcasm. _I'm in Lord Loss's realm. Or am I? _

He really didn't know. This dream-vision-thing was getting more realistic by the minute, and yet he still knew he was asleep.

A clatter of claws on spidery tiles snapped him to attention. He spun around and with a quiver of dread came face to face with Vein. The demon was only a few feet away! Grubbs prepared himself for the jaws around his throat…

But he cocked his head to one side and raised a ginger eyebrow in confusion. Vein's yellow reptilian eyes were blank and glossed over him, as if she couldn't see him.

Grubbs paused, then a smirk crept over his lips. He fell into step with the gruesome hybrid of crocodile, dog and woman, striding with her as she trotted through her master's castle. He tentatively prodded her ridged snout, and laughed when she didn't react.

"Vein is an ugly bitch and she really needs a pedicure," said Grubbs loudly, his grin becoming broader when she was still oblivious to his existence.

_Maybe this dream isn't so bad after all._

But he'd thought this too soon. Vein turned into a fairly small room that was lit by a vast chandelier of black webs and amber candles, livid blood-red light thrown upon the odd sight below. Grubbs staggered to a stop, the blood leached out of his skin.

In the centre of the room was a human – a woman by the looks of it - curled up on the floor, clutching her stomach in agony as a scream escaped her wide mouth. The scream made Grubbs wince: it was like metal nails raking a glass window. And hovering not too far away was that hateful figure, adorned in blood with four of his six arms folded across his slender chest: Lord Loss.

Grubbs snarled and strode forwards. He was obviously torturing this poor girl, trying to squeeze out as much pain and suffering as possible to feast on. He would attempt to stop this, even if he was invisible.

"Get away from her, you bastard!" Grubbs hissed, surprised as his sudden dose of bravery. But when he stared up at the demon master, he blinked in alarm and staggered back. The expression that had settled upon his scarred face was so out of place that it was … frightening.

He looked concerned.

There was real worry in his eyes; not the cruel fake sorrow he fabricated in torture. He seemed anxious to get closer to the woman on the floor, but yet uncertain of himself and drawing back. He ran a black tongue over his cracked lips, and sighed with heart-aching grief as he closed his crimson eyes.

_What. The. Hell!? _was the only thought racing through Grubbs's head.

"Evangeline, please let me help…" Lord Loss whispered, stretching out a clawed hand.

"Never!" shrieked the woman, flinching back. "Get away from me! After what you did to me … you tricked me! I thought you were…"

Another sigh fluttered from Lord Loss's mouth. "My dear, Evangeline. It is in the nature of a demon to be deceitful. But I assure you, I didn't mean you any harm. I do not like humans, yet I do not despise them. But you, Evangeline, are different."

The woman, Evangeline, snorted and cackled somewhat insanely through her torment. "Don't give me all that shit! You're only using me. If I knew what you were, then I would have never…" Her last words became a whimper.

Grubbs tore his gaze away from Lord Loss and turned to Evangeline. He regretted doing this immediately as the bile rose up acidic and hot in his throat.

The woman was wet with blood and other bodily fluids that Grubbs didn't wanted to identify, and her hair was so matted with it he couldn't tell what colour it was originally. Her skin was ashen in the small patches not covered in blood, as pale as a ghost's flesh. Her face was contorted in what could only be described as the epitome of agony, deep lines carved into a young face that may have one been beautiful. Blue eyes sparked with tears and madness and she rolled and twisted and shrieked. Grubbs noticed that although she was slender, her stomach arched into a swollen hillock that bulged out underneath her dress.

"Evangeline, my dear! Let me help you! I – you mean so much to me."

Grubbs let out a sound that could only be written as "HUH!?" Lord Loss's sickly sweet manner was almost as disgusting as the liquid that covered the woman. Not because it was a bad thing, but because it was so uncharacteristic.

"Lord Loss!" Evangeline spat out after gasping raggedly. "I loved you. When you were disguised as a human, I thought you loved me too. I can't believe how stupid I was, how naive." She laughed harshly. "I hope the only good that comes out of this remains good."

Grubbs was about to say something when he suddenly felt a stab in his navel, before he was viciously yanked back with a cry of surprise. Lord Loss's domain faded into darkness, the woman's final scream the last thing Grubbs heard before he wrenched his eyes open.

_Eeek! What do you think? What do you think?:D All will be explained in the next few chapters ;)_


	2. Chapter the First, Metamorphisis

_OK, chapter two is coming your way! I know, fast update. But this is the part that I wanted to type up the most, because this is where the inspiration struck, savvy? So, onwards with the freakiness!_

"Damn, you sure look awful today, kid" commented Dervish with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Have you seen yourself lately?" retorted Grubbs, lacking a little less humour than his uncle as he rubbed his heavy eyes.

"Here you go," said Dervish shovelling three rashers of sizzling bacon and four moist eggs onto his nephew's plate. "Perhaps this will wake you up."

Grubbs peered down at the breakfast sitting on his plate. The warm colours flashed tantalisingly before him, spitting with heat and wafting out enticing scents. On a normal day, a dribble of saliva would trickle from Grubbs's lips before he wolfed down the meal in ten seconds flat, and then looking at Dervish with a pair of pleading puppy eyes for a refill. But the smell of the food just made his stomach churn and clench inwards, as if trying to flinch away from the bacon and eggs. Grubbs deflated; he missed being hungry and loving the taste of food as his tongue rolled over it and snatched the satisfying flavours.

He slowly picked up a utlensil, but instead of finding a fork in his hand he saw a spoon. He caught his reflection in the curving, dull surface: his skin was grey like washed out ash, his dark red hair rumpled and shadows like bruises lurking under his eyelids. Dervish was right - he did look awful.

He looked like Dervish used to look like after he returned from his battle with the malignant Lord Loss, when the nightmares of the Demonata universe settled like a flock of ragged ravens in his uncle's mind. Grubbs was woken up most nights by Dervish's hoarse screams, and he would have to run to his bedroom and try and calm him down, murmuring to him in a soothing tone until Dervish snapped out of his panic and told Grubbs to go to bed with a weary sigh.

But a fortnight had passed since he'd came back, and slowly but surely the bad dreams faded into a foggy cloud of sleep, and Dervish was looking much better. There was a sping in his step and his eyes sparkled.

_Alright for some,_Grubbs thought bitterly as he rubbed his knotted temples.

He carved a sliver of egg with his knife and fork and examined it for a moment. Dervish must have been examining him, because he heard him say "Relax, I haven't poisoned it."

Grubbs put the egg in his mouth very slowly, biting down and withdrawing the fork afterwards so that the prongs grazed under his front teeth. Grubbs grimaced and swallowed the egg down, and it slithered like a heavy slug down his oesophagus. His stomach immediately contorted.

He hated not liking Dervish's food. Was he sick? Change of tastebuds? Or something else? He squeezed his eyes shut and felt a shiver descend down him from the roots of his hair to the ends of his toes.

He opened his eyes again and started when he saw Dervish's eyes narrowed shrewdly as they bored into him, his fork idly twisting a shred of bacon fat around his plate.

"Something up, Grubbs?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," nodded Grubbs, perhaps a little to vigorously. He drummed his fingers on the table top, before sighing. "I need to do my essay" he murmured distractedly, and left the table.

Dervish rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Eating nothing, doing homework. Something is definitely not right."

***

Grubbs snarled as he viciously scribbled out the line he'd just written. It happened to be the only line he'd written in the last hour. Grubbs frowned and turned back to the essay question. But the words blurred into one fat black smudgy line against the stark, burning white page. He growled and sat back in his chair.

Suddenly, his throat felt hot and scratchy, as if his tongue has become rasping sandpaper and pieces of melting glass had been shoved through his mouth. Grubbs coughed like an old man and he staggered out of his seat and ran to the kitchen, croaking "Water!". He snatched up a glass and ran the tap so that the water gushed out in a flurry of liquid that bubbled up the glass and spilled over the edges into the sink. He threw back his head and swallowed the water in what felt like one gulp. But still the fire in his throat had not been quenched, and he needed 6 more glasses until he was revived.

But all that water at once meant his bladder was full. He trudged upstairs to the bathroom and did his business, and was just drying his hands on the towel when he felt a jolt of pain in his heart. An iron fist clenched the pounding muscle, and Grubbs's eyes bulged in the shock of pain. But it vanished as quickly as it came.

But this was just the start.

Grubbs winced and gasped as a sharp sting flashed across his left cheek, blazing fiery red for a moment before throbbing to a dull ache. He frowned and gingery raised his hand to his face, looking up in the bathroom mirror at the same time. His mouth fell open as he tilted his head to one side and leaned forwards in fearful alarm.

A 3 inch red scar was gouged into his face, glistening wetly, the edges of the wound jagged and pale pink with dry skin. Grubbs swallowed thickly and felt his Adam's apple leap in his throat as he touched the cut with a trembling finger, tracing the line that ran from the bridge of his nose to the edge of his chin. Withdrawing his finger, he saw a fat bead of shinning blood smeared before his eyes.

_What's going on? How did I just cut myself?_

Grubbs's wild thoughts flashed to invisible knives in the room. Wielded by ninjas? But this was just his confused mind throwing up any distantly plausible explanation for why a fresh wound had just torn across his cheek.  
Whatever conclusion his brain was formulating next was cut off when another flash of pain seared his right hand and he yelped in fright. Looking down with wide eyes he saw a new wound running across the circumference of his palm.  
Grubbs shivered and felt a trickle of sweat slither down between his tense shoulder blades. His skin became bone-white as he felt an odd sensation crawling over every muscle and sinew, preparing for the horrific moment he was bracing himself for. He whimpered and closed his eyes, holding so tightly to the sink edge for support that his knuckles became as pale as ridges of chalk.

It all happened within 15 seconds.

His flesh erupted into a volcano of pain as everything seemed to burst outwards, like an atomic bomb exploding from within the cramped confines of a tiny fleshy cage. There was a sound akin to a thousand pages been torn from a library's archives as Grubbs's skin ripped and lacerated as if a cat-o'-nine-tails had been raked over his naked body, blood welling up and dribbling from the 100 fresh gashes over every inch of his skin. Grubbs shrieked as it blossomed in a huge pillar of agony, boiling his blood and shredding all the sense in his head, until there was only pain.

Worse was to come. The sides of his upper torso felt as though twin white-hot swords had been ruthlessly driven into his tender flesh, and a pair of icy hands punched into him and dragged something from deep within his bone marrow. And then with a sudden wrench of pain Grubbs was abruptly lifted a few feet in the air, his legs kicking the empty air weakly as he dimly wondered through the torment where the ground had disappeared to. Another scream broke free from his ragged throat as his feet suddenly shredded to bloody tatters and any trace of the limbs were destroyed beyond recognition. With a final hoarse gasp that tumbled from his torn lips, he crashed to the glossy white tiles, the room shaking at his impact.

Grubbs lay on the cold floor for what seemed forever, the only sound his heaving wheezy breathes echoing in the huge expanse of the bathroom. His dark blue eyes were glassy with pain and stretched wide and taut in their gaping sockets, unseeing as he felt the pain slowly wash away. He finally blinked and drew in a huge breath, dragging in some sweet oxygen through his sore mouth, before weakly exhaling and carefully shaking his head.

Apart from his neck, eyes and mouth, his body was numb, still locked in torture's embrace and he found he couldn't move it, even if he dared to try. It would appear he wasn;t yet accustomed to the changes that had happened to his throbbing body.

A trillion thoughts clamored for attention in his pounding head, all trembling in fear.

_Oh God. Oh no no no NO! This can NOT be happening! Whatever is happening,or happened... Argh, the pain! Grr... damn body. Why can't you just be normal!?_

Grubbs flinched as a new feeling stole over him. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and it wasn't painful. It was cool and came in a torrent like a river gushing down a canyon and it filled every cell of his being till it was a part of him, as familiar as a heartbeat against his ribs.

_Magic!_ he thought in alarm.

He was certain there was no window open to lend him a sample of power. It was a part of _him_. It was _his_.

A wintry feeling swallowed him up into a yawning abyss as the dread-laden thought slammed into his mind as everything began to add up. Only one type of creature could have magic within their very essence.

_I'm a demon_.

The world seemed to dim into utter blackness, without even the faintest glimmer of a star to lend him hope and spare him from the terrible fate he contemplated with an aching heart. He was one of _them_! A cold, murderous, evil monster that delighted in killing and suffering. He was the same race - no, breed would be better suited - as the creatures that destroyed his family and everything that seemed normal, shattering his life and tearing out what he held closest to his heart.

He simply could not accept that he was a demon. He could _not_.

His grim thoughts were broken when there was a crashing hammer on the door. Grubbs leaped out of his bloody skin in fright.

_Oh, God! It's Dervish! He sensed the magic and is comming to kill me!_

He tried to struggle to his feet and get away as fast as he could, but with a thrill of icy fear he found he couldn't move any part of him, as if he was manacled to the floor.

Another resounding thud on the wooden door rattled the hinges and suddenly the door was thrown wide open. A figure was silhouetted in the frame and there was a wicked flash of silver raised high above his uncle's head as he roared, pallid eyes glittering fiercely.  
"Dervish, NOO!"

_Gasp! Cliffie! D: _


	3. Chapter the Second, Revelations

_Chapter three is now up, guys. Happy reading._

"Dervish, NO!" Grubbs screamed.

The axe flashed in the light as it arched down and as much as Grubbs wanted to slam his eyes closed when it hit, he was paralysed in wide-eyed horror and could only watch in horror as it fell.

But halfway through the fall, it abruptly ceased halfway through the air, stilled by Dervish's strong and steady hands. His Uncle stood stock still and stared down the hilt of the quivering weapon, panting rapidly.

"Grubbs?" he croaked weakly.

The heavy sonorous clang of the axe as it slipped from Dervish's hands and dented the floor made Grubbs wince. He watched as Dervish fell to his knees and hovered cautiously beside him. His eyes were like pale blue saucers as he observed with an open mouth the blood-streaked teenager before him.

Grubbs swallowed drily. "Dervish, it's me" he murmured, forcing a tired little smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Then Dervish sighed - the sound was awfully weary and heavier than an iron tide crashing against the cliffs. He suddenly looked very old, his little remainig hair brittle and grey, the wrinkles ethced deep into his skin. Yet at the same time he looked as frightened and helpless as a lost child, uncertain what to do. It made Grubbs's heart squeeze with guilt for something he couldn't help.

Dervish's eyes flashed open and hewas determined and in control again, his expression shrewd but with the right levels of empathy. "You look like Hell just punched you in the face" he commented drily.

Then Grubbs's resolve snapped and all the emotion and fear that had welled up inside him since his agonising transformation broke free, like an overflowing dam. A sob escaped him and tears dilluted his bloody cheeks and turned the salty water to rose pink. He felt like a complete wuss crying, but he was hysterical and still in shock.

"Dervish, please tell me what's going on! I need to know, I have to know! What am I?!"

"Steady on, boy!" said Dervish calmly, a line of worry creasing his brow. He paused for a while, as if fishing for the right way to break the news to him. He sighed again and looked very grim. "Take a look in the mirror, kid. You'll figureit out for yourself."

A sense of unease settled over Grubbs like a storm cloud engulfing the moon. He stretched out his conciousness through his body and summoned some feeling into his tender muscles and fiery bones. Eventually, he developed some sensation and could twitch and flex slightly. To his utmost dread, he felt body parts that weren't there before, or nothing where he should have felt something. His arms were a little stiff, so with a grunt he arched his back (which crunched slightly) and sat up. He wanted to move his legs but from the knees down there was only an overwhelming numbness. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up.

He gasped as he suddenly stretched upwards, alarmed to feel a void of air below him and see everything from higher up. Grubbs was a giraffe compared to most boys his age, but now he flet like a skyscraper when he realised he could see over the shiny bald patch on Dervish's head. Steeling himself, and with a rapid heartbeatleaping to his throat, he turned to face the mirror.

He cried out in horror at his reflection.

Much of his body was riddled with lacerations varying from paper-cut slits to 3ft gashes. On his face, Grubbs reluctantly marked out each prominent scar: one across his left cheek, two on his right, a cross on his chin and three raked over his forehead and into his scalp. Under the scars, his skin was as pale and waxen as porcelain.

During the grizzly transformation, the T-shirt he'd been wearing had torn and had beenturned into loose rags. Grubbs wondered why until he saw a second pair of arms portruding from beneath his shoulder blades in his upper torso, as scarred and bleeding as the rest of him. Glancing down, he saw his jeans were reduced to tattered shreds that ended at his knees. Beyond that were the stumps of his legs that tappered down into bloody scraps hanging like crimson jerky. With a sickening jolt of nausea, he saw that he didn't touch the floor. Instead he hovered a foot above the bathroom tiles like a grotesque puppet on invisible strings.

His strange and horribly familair apperance brought a stab to his churning stomach. Fear and diseblief bubbled up within him visibly shook his frame. Alarm bells screamed in his head as one name was thrust with poisonous clarity before his mind.

"Lord Loss!" Grubbs whispered hoarsley.

**

"Why? Why do I - Why do I look like..." Grubbs felt sick; he couldn't say it. "_Him_!?"

He was racked by sobs of anger and fear and sorrow, speaking the words through clenched teeth.

Dervish said nothing, and avoided his nephew's traumatized gaze. He pursed his white lips and rung his hands.

Grubbs took a step - or a glide, rather - closer to Dervish. "Tell. Me. Now. I _have_ to know."

Dervish glanced up and smiled in sad agreement. "Yeah, you do. Come down ans sit on the sofa in the living room. You need to comfortable when I tell you ... the truth." The last two words were spoken softly.

Dervish turned on his heel and went out through the door. Grubbs took a quick look around the bathroom before he left. There was an ominous, red teenager-shaped puddle glistening wet and tenacious on the floor. Flecks of blood peppered the towels that looked like a sheep's fleece torn from it's body.

_Damn, what a mess. My _life_ is a bloody mess!_

He nudged himself forward, shivering at how eerie he looked drifting along on unseen currents, like a nightmare caught in a gravity-less vaccum. He managed to get downstairs with a few pauses to take a breath, Dervish waiting patiently for him.

He followed Dervish to the living room and joined Dervish gingerly on the sofa. He grimaced when he let whatever enchantment keep him upright drop, and he collapsed onto the plump furniture. He winced when a trickle of blood seeped from his wounds and stained the sofa.

"Now, listen carefully Grubbs," murmured Dervish, running a hand through his remaining hair. "I'm going to tell you once, so pay attention. It's going to be freaky, terrifying, and hard to accept. I really didn't want to keep this from you, but after the death of Cal and Sarah-"

"You mean my mum and dad?" Grubbs interrupted hotly.

"I don't."

The blunt answer cut Grubbs deep and scarred him.

"OK, where to begin?...."

As Grubbs listened, his eyes grew wider and filled with fresh tears.

"Lord Loss isn't like most demons. As you may have noticed or will notice, many demons take on an animalistic form. Horrible of course, but still animal based. Lord Loss is one of the few which take on a humanoid aspect.

"Another thing you should know is that demons can live longer than stars and universes. So it was shocking and incredible that Lord Loss discovered he was dying, even though he is a very young demon. No one really knows what's happening to him and why, but we know he will only last a handful of decades before he drops dead, which will be a huge relief for all of us.

"There seemed no cure or method to save Lord Loss, no matter how much he tried. So, resigning himself to his fate, he had only one option: to produce an heir to carry on his reign of sorrow.

"Lord Loss found a hiccup in his plan though. Lord Loss discovered he could not concieve a child of pure demon blood. He also realised that none of the demons were worthy enough for the role, for he is unique to demon-kind. Demons delight in killing, while he would rather stick to torture, and he didn't want to loose this trait. Therefore, he had to do something few demons dared to do.

"He went to the human universe, and lucky for him he didn't have to wait for a window or tunnel as he can cross world's with ease. He put up an extremly strong glamour, which must have used up a great deal of magic to retain. In the guise of a human, he sought out a female whom he thought was suitable for bearing a child.

"He found her eventually: Evangeline Moore. A young, head-strong girl with magical heratige. She was pretty and clever, but lonley. Lord Loss was what she thought was the answer to her solitude. He was charming and handsome, and before yo knew it, the decietful bastard had made her pregnant.

"9 months later, Lord Loss revealed his true identity,much to her horror and disbelief. He swept her off to his realm and soon afterwards the baby was born. Poor little monster. It was too much of a strain on Evangeline and she died soon afterwards. Now Lord Loss was left with a bawling bundle and no parenting skills, not to mention demon minions wanting to take a bite out of the baby. So Lord Loss returned to Earth and dumped the baby on an orphanage door-step.

"A little while later, Cal and Sarah adopted the demon-child. They were pleased to see that the baby was a well-behaved and got on well with Gret, but they knew he wasn't normal. There were times when he revealed his other side, even transformed. But he eventually grew out of it and forgot what he was.

"And years later, I find this boy sitting beside me on the sofa while I tell him the story of his life. Grubbs, you're Lord Loss's son."

_Gasp! What will happen next?! Tune in for the next chapter, whenever that'll be posted!_


	4. Chapter the Third, Teenage Angst

_Whoop! Next chapter is up! Sorry if I haven't updated for a while, but I've been invaded by plot bunnies. Five or six new stories in two months = one confused writer. Sorry for any swear-words in this chapter for younger readers, but I did specify that it's rated T, and besides, Grubbs is a teenager, and I know how much teenage boys swear! But anyway, let's go! _

Grubbs couldn't take it. It was simply too much to bear. It was like an ocean overflowing and flooding the land. It heavier than an anchor crushing the breath from your lungs and desperatly wanting it to be taken off you, but all you could do was feel your world crash as you lie immobile.

Grubbs' breath came out in sharp, swift pants as his eyes flickered around the room, not knwoing where to turn o for guidance. His heart throbbed against his chest, and his vision blurred through slightly crimson tears, all four of his fists clenching, teeth gritted.

"Grubbs?" asked Dervish softly, but there was caution is his tone. To Grubbs, his voice seemed a million miles away. Dervish repeated himself and edged forward.

"I'm so sorry, Grubbs" he murmured, looking sincere.

Grubbs felt fire flood his veins. He turned to face Dervish and hissed "No you're not. How can you feel symapthy for something that isn't your family, something that isn't human?"

"Grubbs, don't overreact" said Dervish calmly but firmly.

"I can overreact as much as I want!" Grubbs screamed, leaping up from the sofa and hovering over Dervish like some mutated avenging angel, blue eyes ablaze. "I just found out my entire life was a lie, and that that prick is my -" he struggled to say it - "Father! A demon! A demon that destroyed everything that ever made sense to me! And now, everything is ruined again!"

"Grubbs- calm yourslef!"

"Get away from me! You don't know me! I hate you!"

And then Grubbs fled from the mansion, gliding swiftly like a bird over water, moving so fast that the grass swayed in his wake.

"Grubbs!" he heard Dervish exclaim, but he paid no heed.

He only stopped when he was deep in the shelter of the forest, where the thicket closed off the sunlight so he could push himself away from everything. Grubbs felt as though he was burning, and he roared like a savage monster. Like the savage monster that he had become.

He grabbed a young sapling with his four arms and tore it with his bare hands, the wood creaking and splintering under his might. He turned his rage to the rest of the forest, ripping apart trees and rocks as if they were made of paper.

Finally, Grubbs was too tired to do anything, too weakened and weary by the truth to do anymore. He sighed shakily and collapsed against a tree, his claws raking the bark as he slid down it slightly. He slumped against the wood for a long time, catching his breath and waiting for the silence his destruction had brought to end and for the birds to return to the raveged trees. Above his head, the sun was begining to start it's descent into the horizon, the sky changing from bright blue to a dull burgandy-yellow.

_I've lost everything_ Grubbs thought to himself as he stared down at the bloody strips of his feet that dangeled inches above the forest floor. _My life was just a cover-up. I'm barely human. I don't even know what I am anymore. _

_I thought Mum and Dad, Gret, Dervish... I thought they were my family. But they were just people whose lives had been thrown into chaos to protect _me_, a monster, a freak._

_Damn, life sure is shit. Why me?_

Grubbs' rage had escpaed him, and now he felt hollow and flimsy like a deflated balloon. He then curled up inwardly and let a black veil drop. Tears fell thick and fast and momentarily washed the red from his scared face so the boy beneath was visible, until the blood was replenished and his wounds wept again. A series of sobs wracked his tall frame as he hugged the tree he leaned against. At another time, he would have felt like a right wuss, but he ahd been hurt very deep.

He didn't really know how long he was there in the forest, but by the time Dervish found him twilight had settled over Cacery Vale, blood-red spires swept up into the sky by the sun and blemishing the purple dusk. Grubbs flinched and whirled around as his uncle (or was it "uncle"?) laid a hand on his shoulder, but he relaxed when he recognised the man.

"How'd you find me?" Grubbs asked.

"Followed the path of destruction" answered Dervish, pointing to the wreckage carved out of the forest leading back up to the mansion. His path was as clear as a hurricanes.

Grubbs coughed out a chuckle and wiped away his tears with the back of one of his hands. "I'm sorry Dervish. Really, I am. I didn't mean what I said before."

"I know," answered Dervish softly with a slight smile. "You're actually a nice kid under the screaming fits of angst."

Grubbs cringed and rubbed the back of his ginger hair. "It won't happen again. I'm over it now."

"Good" grinned Dervish, then his smile slipped. His eyes darkened as he said "At least now you'll be prepared for what's coming next."

"What do you mean?" Grubbs asked, feeling dread sneak up on him.

Dervish looked very sad and torn, but then he sighed roughly and spat it out. "Because of your half-demon heratige there is something you have to do. It's both traditional and necessary. Now that you've discoverd your other form, you must visit the realm of your father."

Grubbs felt like he'd been slapped in the face. "You mean, I have to go to Lord Loss's realm?"

"Yes," Dervish sighed. "You must stay there for at least a week so you can... get in touch with your demon side as it were. Learn what it's like to be demonic."

"But why?" demanded Grubbs, swallowing nervously.

"It's simple really: so you can decide whether to stay human or become a demon."

Grubbs shook his head, eyes wide and incredulous. "But I want to be a human! Why would I want to be a demon? I wouldn't chose that!"

"Would you?" said Dervish, eyes like ice.

Grubbs felt like he'd been drenched in glacial water and he shivered. Would he?

Then the warmth returned to Dervish's eyes. "I know it's hard, but you have to do this. You have to go, or else Lord Loss will drag you there himself. And knowing him, he'll probably kill a few humans along the way."

Grubbs then pulled himself together and rolled his shoulders. He took a deep breath, exhaled and frowned in what he hoped was determination. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll go visit Lord Loss."

_Gasp! Another cliff-hanger!? Wow, I sure am unkind to all you readers. But thanks for reading! And don't forget to click that little review button down there!_


	5. Chapter the Fourth, Family Reunion

_Aha! Here's chapter four. I thought I'd post this just before school work takes over –ugh, the horror! Anyway, hope you enjoy, and some of the finer details are a little different to the book but ah well doesn't matter. Oh yes, and HUGE thanks to all who have reviewed and such. _

Grubbs' breath was shaky as he tried to get a grip on his nerves. His stomach twisted in a painful knot of fear and dread as he and Dervish descended down into the basement. Row upon row of wine bottles lined the shelves like orderly regiments of soldiers. The rich liquid encased in the glass the same colour as the blood that seeped out of Grubbs' wounds.

The gashes were really starting to annoy Grubbs. They weren't painful, as he'd expected them to be. But they caused blood to litter the path he trod like tiny footprints, and they never ceased to weep. He felt diseased, like he had the plague or something. He guessed demon heritage might as well have been a disease.

Dervish and Grubbs then entered the basement. The teenager felt an instinctive shiver, a chill that had nothing to do with the low temperature. The tables were littered with books and old scraps of paper, slowly collecting a layer of grey dust. Candle stubs suddenly leaked wax as Dervish lit them, casting a ruddy glow over the chiselled stone. The cage Bill-E was trapped in during his bout of lycanthropy still squats in the corner of the room.

Bill-E! Grubbs felt a jolt of alarm and guilt: he'd forgotten completely about him after this whole crazy affair. Heavy sorrow collapsed on him like a veil of metal and he sighed. What was he going to tell his half-brother? Wait, he wasn't even his brother anymore. How was he supposed to tell him that? He couldn't.

As if reading Grubbs' mind, Dervish turned to face Grubbs after a quick glance at the cage and said "Would you like me to tell Billy the truth about you?"

Grubbs swallowed and fumbled with the fingers on two of his hands. "Yeah, tell him," he answered. "You'd be better at explaining it than me. And, I don't want my new look to freak him out."

Dervish nodded, and then began to create a tunnel to Lord Loss's realm.

His ex-uncle started muttering arcane spells, his voice as soft and lyrical as a musical instrument as his tongue dealt out words tasting of silver. Grubbs was overwhelmed with a wave of fearful nostalgia. This was just like before, minus one howling Bill-E and now with a very different looking Grubbs. But it was so similar it was unnerving.

Grubbs ran a hand through his hair, smearing it with blood. He sighed harshly and collapsed into a chair, folding one pair of arms over his bare chest and placing the other pair on the arm rests. He looked down and frowned at the strips of muscle that fell from his knees, barely scraping the ground. He waited, each minute dragging him closer to meeting his father and nemesis.

After half an hour of spell casting and drawing symbols over the walls, Grubbs rose from his chair and moved over to Dervish, heart racing.

"It's going to be OK, kid" Dervish reassured him, a faint smile on his lips. Grubbs wished he could believe him.

The walls melted away and were replaced with infinite, yawning space. A red sky erupts like flames from a volcano, its surface riddled with white meteors streaking off who knew where. Grubbs' throat tightened and he moved closer to Dervish, who lightly patted his hand to let him know he was there.

Suddenly, darkness engulfed the room as if the jaws of some monstrous creature had snapped down upon them. And slowly but surely, a weak red light began to grow like the brightness you see behind closed eyes.

The cellar returned. But now punched into the wall was a wide chasm of webs, mottled grey and soaked with glistening ruby beads. Some were like gossamer threads, others too wide to wrap your arms around. The end of the tunnel was too far to judge by eyesight because it crossed the immeasurable distance between worlds.

A tall dark shape began to draw closer, gliding forward like the shadow of a ghost. Closer and closer it drew and before Grubbs knew it, there he stood before him, in all his horrific glory.

"Hello, Grubitsch," Lord Loss purred, his smile broad. "My son."

**

As soon as he saw him, he snapped.

"I'll kill you!" Grubbs snarls, anger ripping out of him like wildfire.

He launched himself at the demon, soaring like a missile. He caught a glimpse of Lord Loss' surprised face – he didn't expect the attack – before he pushed him to the ground and pinned him there. He lashed out with all four fists, howling like a deranged banshee, wanting to pummel the monster that had ruined his life into bloody pulp.

He heard a growl from under him and suddenly he was flying through the air. He crashed into the wall, but instead of slipping down it, he was held in place by a painful magical barrier. He writhed and tried to use his own magic to break the barrier, but try and he might he was too weak. He cried out as he felt a crushing force trying to flatten him into the wall.

"Enough!" Dervish shouted in alarm, eyes wide in fear.

The pressure was released, and the boy fell to the floor, unable to stand. He slowly looked up and saw Lord Loss leaning over him, a hand cupping his chin. His grip was surprisingly soft.

"I wouldn't have hurt you, Grubbs, but you attacked me. I had no choice but to show you what would happen if you try and harm me."

Grubbs felt a flicker of rage, and he tried to swat the demon's hand away, but he was too fatigued to raise his hand. He felt deflated, and he could only stare into the deep crimson depths of Lord Loss' eyes.

A fond yet menacing grin crept up Lord Loss' face. "I have waited 13 years for this day. The day I finally meet my son."

"You've already met me" Grubbs stammered.

"You misunderstand me, Grubitsch," Lord Loss said with a shake of his head. "In your old form, you were just another human to extract sorrow from, just another victim to drain grief. But now, you are more. You are what you were born to be."

"No" Grubbs hissed weakly.

Lord Loss' face darkened slightly, and his eyes were distant. "I was there at your birth, and I saw your mother die because of you. You were demonic as soon as you entered this world, as so you should have been.

"You should have been mine!" Lord Loss suddenly spat, straightening up. "I am your father, and I should have raised you!"

Grubbs frowned in confusion. "But, I thought you left me on Earth, with humans?"

"It would seem your "uncle" lied to you" Lord Loss growled, turning to face Dervish. Grubbs' eyes widened.

Dervish sighed but looked nervous. "Yes, Grubbs. Lord Loss is right. He never took you here." He took in a deep breath. "I did."

"What?" Grubbs whispered. His head was churning with confusion.

"I took you from Lord Loss' realm in the hope that you could live a human life," Dervish said, drawing closer to Grubbs. He snorted and shook his head sadly. "What a fool I was. I knew this day would come, but I couldn't let this happen. It was just wrong to waste the chance for you to be a human."

Grubbs clambered to his feet and looked from Dervish to Lord Loss and back to Dervish.

"But why would you do that?" Grubbs asked. "I mean, I'm nothing to you. Why would you save some random demon kid?"

"Your mother was the sister of a woman I used to love," Dervish explained. "Her real name was Nadia Moore, but she went under the name of Juni. When she heard what had happened to her sister, and that she was expecting you, she begged me to try and help you, for her sister's sake."

Grubbs sighed, and then he sighed again but more roughly. He would have paced if he had feet, so instead he just glided back and forth, hands behind his back.

"So let me get this straight: Lord Loss is my real dad, and my mum was your ex-girlfriend's sister. I was born, then you took me to Earth like your ex asked you to. I was sent to an orphanage and coincidently ended up being raised by your brother. Lord Loss was pissed off that I was gone. I end up bleeding all over the place. Is that it?"

Dervish shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Weird story. Why are these things never clear?"

Lord Loss sighed, the sound like a breeze in a graveyard. "Enough talk. Grubitsch, you're coming with me."

_That'll do for now. But OMG, will Grubbs end up in Lord Loss's realm? Will this story actually make sense? Will my dinner be ready on time? Wait, scratch the last one. Tune in next time, on the freaky-Demonata- fanfic show!_


	6. Chapter the Sixth, New Home

_OMG, I have not updated in a centaury! My most humble apologies! Anyways, here is chapter 5 (or 6, depending how you slice it) and reviews would be LOVE. Oh and sorry Lord Loss, don't hate me for laughing in your face in this chapter._

_Well, this is it_ Grubbs thought to himself, feeling a drip of sweat snake down his back and mingle with the clotting blood of his scars. He glanced at Dervish and felt his stomach knot into a tangle of nerves. The thought of leaving his uncle and being alone with his freak-of-a-father was truly scary. Fear welled up inside him like poison spreading through your heart. Maybe Lord Loss would eat him as soon as Dervish was out of sight, or maybe he'd do something worse-

"We haven't got time to waste, Grubitsch," Lord Loss demanded, a faint crease appearing between his eyes. Grubbs stared at the spot. Sheesh, Lord Loss didn't even have eyebrows! His hand instinctively rose to his own forehead and he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt two soft, ginger streaks of hair above his eyes. Lord Loss, on the other hand…

Grubbs couldn't help it. He exploded into laughter and doubled over in pain as his ribs starting aching. Lord Loss stared at him and seethed with barely concealed anger and annoyance.

"What is the meaning of this outburst?" he hissed.

"I'm s-sorry," Grubbs panted, wiping a tear from his eye. "It's just that…" His lips twisted as he held back more ridiculous mirth, but finally he couldn't contain it and let a loud "HA!" rip from his mouth. I mean, come on! One of the most feared of all demon lords didn't even have any _eyebrows! _Or _hair_ for that matter! What was so terrifying about a bloody, baldy emo dude?

Lord Loss's clenched fists turned white.

Dervish felt a smirk tug at his lips. _That kid is something else._

"OK, OK, I'm done" Grubbs grinned, exposing his pointy fangs. He turned to face Dervish and nodded at him. "See ya around, Derv."

"Let's hope so" his uncle replied ambiguously.

The teenager then turned to his newly found father. "So, do I need to pack anything with me? Toothpaste? Slippers? Hairbrush?" His lips quirked up at the last word.

Lord Loss scowled. "No. Just come with me, before the portal closes."

He spun elegantly and drifted dream-like towards the gaping, webby hole in the fabric of the universe. Wordlessly, Grubbs followed.

As soon as he was under the shadow of the tenacious tunnel, that brief moment of fear-induced laughter vanished as if snatched away by the gaping, sucking wind that drew him deeper into the passage. The air howled and dragged him ever closer, and he shivered and rubbed both pairs of arms over his bare chest. Ahead, Lord Loss glided onwards and let the way ahead, a ruby beacon of despair that was taking him further and further from humanity with every step. Grubbs glanced back, and was saddened and horrified that he could no longer see the way back, as it was slowly being replaced by the empty vacuum of space. He hurried his pace, not wanting to dilly-dally and be caught in the airless nothingness that was slowly eating the tunnel.

After a few minutes, Grubbs was at Lord Loss's side. He peered up at his father and his passive face.

"Erm, how much longer is it?" Grubbs asked, wincing at how loud his voice was in the silence.

"Not much further, boy" the demon lord replied, not looking at Grubbs.

They both floated onwards without speaking for another half an hour, but it felt like eternity. Finally, a morbid crimson light appeared at the end of the passage and suddenly they were no longer encased in the cage of webs.

Grubbs blinked in the bright light after the relative dark of the tunnel.

"Here we are," said Lord Loss, a venomous glee entering his voice. "Your new home."

The teenager stared at his environment with awe and anxiety. He was in a truly enormous room, so big and swollen that he thought that the ceiling would surely spear through the clouds (if there were any in Lord Loss's realm). Every surface and article of furniture was made of compacted spider webs of varying thickness and density, sparkling silvery and wan under a fine coating of blood like stardust. Even the floor he stood on was made of elaborate grey tiles of gossamer threads. The walls seemed to emanate a soft, vermillion light, and the air was ruddy and warm and thick like the inside of a behemoth's giant blood vessel. On the far wall was a large imposing throne made of- yes, you guessed it – more webs, and it was designed to look like a giant spider with its mandibles beckoning its prey closer.

Grubbs remembered this place from his dream. But that dream seemed a life time away now.

"What do you think?" Lord Loss asked, two of his hands on his hips, a serious expression on his face.

Grubbs gulped. "It's… gory. And very red. But-" He paused, and nodded appreciatively. "It's elaborate and kinda pretty."

A genuine smile broke out on Lord Loss's cracked lips, and it was both hauntingly creepy and odd. "Why thank you, Grubitsch. I made all this myself." He delicately caressed a smooth webby table top.

"Get out of here," Grubbs snorted jokingly. He desperately hated to admit it, but he was impressed. "You know, for a deranged psychotic demon lord, you have a creative flair."

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?" Lord Loss smirked. "It is nice for my work to be appreciated. I am unusual for my kind to want to create things, as well as destroy. If only others knew that art is like a bang. Like a bang of entrails and bones and blood in a colourful explosion." He licked his lips at the thought.

He then sighed his usual, mournful moan of sorrow. "But alas, I am not a true artist. I can only copy from objects already created, for as a demon I lack the knowledge of how to make my own designs."

Grubbs contemplated the demon with an eyebrow raised. He was about to reply when a feral snarl rattled his very bones. He tensed, and slowly turned to be met by a fearsome jaws that were flying right at him and about to close over his head…

_Gah! Yet another a cliff-hanger! It's like this story must have a cliff-hanger after each chapter. Oh, and a disclaimer to the Naruto Shippuden reference *sweat drop* I just had to add it!_


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